harmonic

Alternative forms

• harmonick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin harmonicus, from Ancient Greek ἁρμονικός (harmonikós), from ἁρμονία (harmonía, “harmonie”).

Adjective

harmonic (comparative more harmonic, superlative most harmonic)

1. pertaining to harmony
2. pleasant to hear; harmonious; melodious
   • (Can we date this quote?) Alexander Pope

     harmonic twang of leather, horn, and brass.

3. (mathematics) used to characterize various mathematical entities or relationships supposed to bear some resemblance to musical consonance

   The harmonic polar line of an inflection point of a cubic curve is the component of the polar conic other than the tangent line.

Noun

harmonic (plural harmonics)

1. (physics) a component frequency of the signal of a wave that is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency
2. (music) the place where, on a bowed string instrument, a note in the harmonic series of a particular string can be played without the fundamental present

Anagrams

• choirman, chromian, omniarch